“The USDA’s monthly update on world crop supply and demand prospects released on March 9 contained few changes from the February report,” said Darrel Good. “The quarterly Grain Stocks and Prospective Plantings reports will set the stage for prices during the spring months.”

The USDA’s World Outlook Board made no changes in March in the forecasts of consumption and ending stocks of U.S. corn, soybeans, and wheat for the current marketing year. There was some expectation that the forecast of the domestic soybean crush would be increased slightly based on the pace of crush from September 2006 through January 2007.

“The forecast of the marketing year average farm price of soybeans was increased slightly,” said Good. “The midpoint of the forecast rage is $6.30, compared to a forecast of $6.20 in February.”

For wheat, the USDA made a small reduction in the estimated size of the crop in the European Union and a more substantial increase in the estimated size of the crop in India. Still, world stocks of wheat at the end of the current marketing year will be significantly smaller than stocks at the beginning of the year.

For corn, the USDA increased the estimated size of the Brazilian crop by about 80 million bushels. That crop is now forecast at almost 1.9 billion bushels, 15 percent larger than last year’s crop and 37 percent larger than the harvest in 2005.

Brazilian exports are forecast at 256